The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken the step of challenging a trial court’s decision that acquitted former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in two cases related to alleged non-compliance with summonses in the excise policy case probe. The agency has raised objections against the trial court’s rulings from January 22, which absolved Kejriwal of deliberately disobeying ED summonses. The appeal is set to be reviewed on Wednesday by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma.
This action by the ED follows shortly after a Delhi court cleared Kejriwal, former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, and 21 others in the liquor policy case by the CBI, citing a lack of evidence for a prima facie case and dismissing the prosecution’s claims of a “criminal conspiracy” as speculative and unreliable witness statements.
In its recent plea, the ED accused Kejriwal of evading the agency’s summonses while in office as Delhi’s Chief Minister, alleging that he raised unfounded objections to avoid participating in the investigation. Despite these claims, the trial court ruled in favor of Kejriwal, stating that the ED failed to demonstrate intentional disobedience of summonses, leading to his acquittal in both cases.
The ED further contends that individuals connected to Kejriwal in the Delhi excise policy case had undue interactions during its development, resulting in unjust benefits to certain parties and alleged kickbacks to the Aam Aadmi Party. While Kejriwal was cleared in the CBI case, he is presently on interim bail in a money laundering case investigated by the ED, with the Supreme Court seeking an in-depth examination of the necessity of arrests under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) through a larger bench.
The CBI’s opposition to Kejriwal’s discharge order is awaiting review by the Delhi High Court.